UHLC clinic wins national pro bono award

Cited for student and staff efforts in behalf of immigrants facing deportation.

Professor Geoffrey A. Hoffman, director of the Law Center’s clinic

Janet B. Beck, supervising attorney and clinical assistant professor

Feb. 15, 2012 -- The University of Houston Law Center Immigration Clinic is being honored with a national pro bono award for its many years of helping immigrants facing deportation. The Washington, D.C.-based Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., CLINIC, will present the award to Geoffrey A. Hoffman, director of the Law Center’s clinic, and Janet B. Beck, supervising attorney and clinical assistant professor, at the organization’s May 24 convention in Austin.

CLINIC singled out the immigration clinic’s work in winning a precedent-setting decision in May 2011 that enhanced the rights of thousands of mentally impaired immigrants in deportation proceedings.

“This award means a lot to the clinic and the school,” Hoffman said. “It honors the work of our students and faculty, especially the recent groundbreaking work to protect immigrants’ rights before the Board of Immigration Appeals.”

In a letter to Hoffman and Beck announcing the award, CLINIC said: “You and your students at the University of Houston have consistently and generously dedicated your time and knowledge to the BIA Pro Bono Project by taking on many cases throughout the years. Your commitment to pro bono representation is critically important to immigrants in removal proceedings, as well as to CLINIC’s work.”